There were a lot of new faces this year for the twinning visit, Brenda and Walt Smith came too and 5 of our under 10s. The weather was breezy despite the start of May having been so warm and sunny. Armentieres had not seen a drop of rain for 6 weeks, until we came.

It was a varied weekend, gym, swimming and bowling, all good fun

There is a littl;e bit of a report on the weekend and a few pictures. All of the pictures are available in the Club Pages on the News Website.

This year it was our turn to go to France on the Twinning Exchange and 5 adults and 18 gymnasts set out at 5.45 from Copley on a coach for a long drive to Armentierse in Northern France . Well most people turned up at 5.45, Ashley, due to a slight misunderstanding turned up at 4.45 and sat and waited in the car.

Down the motorway, stop at the service station for one gymnast to spend £8.00 on a breakfast, and to the Channel Tunnel Terminal. Here we mingled with a lot of Rugby fans going to France for all sorts of reasons. The weirdest had attractive knitted tank tops, flat caps the size of a dinner plate and a stuffed rabbit.

Finally to Armentieres and a civic reception and some speeches. The press were there and we appeared in the local paper the next day. Here we met the host families, all fixed up and nearly all of the little ones paired up. It is at this moment you realise that you should have brought that phrase book with you as one one in your host family speaks ant English. Off to the gym at Jeune Garde for supper and a mess about in the gym.

Saturday morning and it is time with the host families. Most seemed to go shopping, a chance to buy presents for home and for the French families. In the afternoon it was training in the gym, well a lot of larking about really. We did the display we had been practising, didn’t go too badly, and then we did it again with all the French gymnast joining in. Home for a snack and off to Belgium , not that far away, and bowling. As there were so many of us the only time we could get on was at 11.00 at night. It was a late finish. Did I mention I got 5 strikes? More times than necessary! It was also Laura Sefton’s birthday and there was a lot of ice cream consumed.

Sunday we went to a Water Park , not locally but on the West coast at LeTouquet. It was a long drive on real small roads. A bit cold on the beach but the water park was good with all the usual stuff, water slides and a wave machine. Tea at McDonalds. Sunday night was watching a gymnastics film in one of the houses and on Monday up, not too early for the reverse trip back to the UK.

We are looking forward to hosting the French gymnasts when they visit Stockport in 2008 after this good trip.